


No matter what, I’m gonna love you through it

by leighwrites



Series: The Omegaverse [2]
Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alpha Eddie Kaspbrak, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Eddie Kaspbrak Loves Richie Tozier, Eddie is still a good Alpha, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Omega Richie Tozier, Omega Verse, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-21
Updated: 2020-01-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:01:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22353034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leighwrites/pseuds/leighwrites
Summary: This means that Eddie isn’t surprised in the slightest when they show up to meet her at the café one Saturday with Richie wearing one of Eddie’s baggiest hoodies, the Alpha scent wrapped around him like a blanket, trying to smother his Omega smell. Eddie watches her eyes widen, and then the grin that spreads on her face before she speaks. “I fucking knew it!”Richie, who has just sat down tucked into the corner of the booth between the hall and Eddie, raises a brow at her outburst. “Come again?”
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Series: The Omegaverse [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1530698
Comments: 10
Kudos: 350





	No matter what, I’m gonna love you through it

Adjusting to routines is something that Richie has always struggled with. He feels like he’s sixteen again when he has to visit a doctor to cancel the blocking deodorant and the medication he’s been taking for six years. Eddie’s assured him numerous times that it’s okay if he wants to keep taking them or go back on them, but Richie refuses on the grounds that if he’s going to accept this side of him then it means taking himself off that medication. In their place, he’s given new medication - one to try and help keep his emotions in check while he becomes attuned to the instincts he’s been fighting off and shoving down for so long, and another to stop pregnancy.

Richie hates the second one, and they tend to  _ not _ mention it for his own sake - or either of his meds. Eddie just continues to fill the rectangular tub of pills for Richie once a week so Richie doesn’t have to try and fail to remember, and leaves it on the sink next to the pot with the toothbrushes lying inside. There are times, in the first month or two, that Richie forgets - has to be reminded that he has new medication - and has to take three pills and not two now.

Adjustment to the relationship he has with Eddie now is difficult too. He’s not used to being with someone, not like  _ this _ . Everything from the random kisses to the way Eddie wraps his arms around him in the bathroom in the morning to take in his scent while he’s brushing his teeth. It throws him every morning when he wakes up in Eddie’s bed wrapped in his Alpha scent with Eddie curled around him, and it throws him even more every night when Eddie goes to bed and asks the question of ‘are you coming’ while he waits in the living room doorway for him. He figures that someone like Eddie who enjoys a lot of alone time would have grown bored by now, needing a break from Richie for a couple of days. It’s something he’s voiced before which was met with a reassuring kiss, Eddie yanking him to his room, and a careful scenting process that lulls Richie to sleep.

He’s definitely not used to Eddie taking him to class when they have one at the same time, or leaving class to find Eddie waiting for him to drive him home since they used to just make their own way to and from classes. They still share the usual back and forth arguments their friends have come to know, but Eddie suspects that Beverly knows there’s something off with Richie whenever her nose wrinkles slightly and she glances at him. It’s easy to forget that she’s rare too - a female Alpha - with senses sharper than any Alpha Eddie has ever met. It wouldn’t surprise him if she’s been catching on to what Richie really is - in fact Eddie’s sure she  _ is _ catching on - but she keeps it to herself and sinks back into whatever conversation is happening.

This means that Eddie isn’t surprised in the slightest when they show up to meet her at the café one Saturday with Richie wearing one of Eddie’s baggiest hoodies, the Alpha scent wrapped around him like a blanket, trying to smother his Omega smell. Eddie watches her eyes widen, and then the grin that spreads on her face before she speaks. “I fucking knew it!”

Richie, who has just sat down tucked into the corner of the booth between the hall and Eddie, raises a brow at her outburst. “Come again?”

“I knew that you were a fucking Om-”

Richie shushes her quickly, looking around the café almost nervously as though the people around them are listening. “Not so fucking loud Bev. Yes, I’m an Omega. I arranged this little lunch here to tell you - to come clean.”

“Trust me Richie, you can’t hide that scent. Everyone in this damn place can smell you, but you have an Alpha scent on you so you’re fine.” Beverly sips at her water, her perfectly manicured nails tapping against the glass. “So does this mean that you two finally got your act together too?”

Richie narrows his eyes at Beverly, dropping his head to Eddie’s shoulder who raises a hand to stroke it through his hair and soothe him. “We’re  _ dating  _ if that’s what you mean.”

Beverly grins into her glass. “It’s about fucking time. I was tired of looking at all the longing glances you kept giving each other. I get it, by the way, why you didn’t tell us about being an Omega. The whole male Omega in Derry thing kind of speaks for itself. You don’t need to explain yourself to me. I’m just glad you don’t feel like you have to keep it from us anymore.”

And that right there is why Richie has always loved Beverly the most right after Eddie. She understands things - things about him - without him having to go into excessive detail. She always has. She  _ gets him _ in away that the others never have and he’s pretty sure they never will. He smiles gratefully at that and she winks. Eddie’s arm falls down to Richie’s shoulders, his fingers toying with the ends of his hair where it’s bunched against the hood at the back of his neck. It’s a tactic to soothe him, because there are so many damn Alpha scents in this place that it’s starting to make him wary of everything around him, and Eddie can apparently smell the change in Richie.

“Are you okay?” Beverly asks, noticing the sudden wariness in Richie.

“I’m fine. I’m just not… the medication that I used to take dulled my sense of smell so my Omega brain didn’t react too much to the Apha scents around me.” Richie shifts on his seat and tilts his head up to nuzzle his face into Eddie’s neck where he can take in the scent that he’s become used to over the last few weeks - a scent that’s now fully registered in his Omega brain.

Eddie slowly tucks some of Richie’s hair behind his ear and draws him more into his side. “Is being here too much for you?”

Richie sighs, pressing his nose more into Eddie’s neck. “A little.”

Eddie frowns, trailing a finger idly against the back of Richie’s ear. He’s not surprised all the Alpha scents around him are too much. Even Beverly’s smoky strawberry scent is probably too much for his newly unrepressed brain to handle right now. “Do you wanna go home?”

Richie shakes his head and buries his face completely into Eddie’s neck so his voice is muffled. “No. It’s Bev hours.”

“God how did he get this adorable?” Beverly asks, a grin on her face as she places her drink down. “I never in a million years would have thought that Richie  _ the damn trashmouth  _ Tozier would be a clingy adorable shy Omega.”

Richie groans his disagreement, attempting to hide his face more in Eddie’s neck which ultimately fails, drawing a laugh from the blonde next to him, who trails his finger down to Richie’s neck. “Come on Bev, no teasing. He’s still new to this.”

Beverly holds her hands up in defence, the shit eating grin still present on her face as she does so. “Okay, okay, I’ll stop teasing him, If this is too much for him though we can always go back to your apartment.”

Eddie tilts his head to the side, brushing his nose against Richie’s hair. “You want to do that?”

Richie shakes his head again. “I need to get used to this part of me.”

“You shouldn’t be overwhelming yourself in the process though.” Beverly reasons, glancing around the café. “Not to mention… there’s a lot of Alphas here and they’re starting to pick up on your scent. Not to be rude or anything but you smell kind of… strong right now.”

Eddie follows her line of vision to a booth in the corner where a group of Alpha are sitting, glancing over at them once in a while. “Let’s go.”

Beverly nods and takes out her wallet, fishing out some money and tossing it onto the table. She flanks Richie’s other side as they leave, pushing herself against him until he’s swarmed by her scent combined with Eddie’s as they pass the booth. Once they’re outside, she steps aside and puts some space between herself and Richie to give him a break from her scent. It’s times like this they need Stan, because what he lacks in the Alpha sex drive he more than makes up for with a scent that’s so strong that Eddie’s seen Alphas twice his size flee from him because of it. 

Eddie laces his fingers with Richie’s as they walk, not so subtly rubbing his wrist against Richie’s own as they pass an Alpha who turns to look back at them but is quickly put off by the fresh scent of Eddie that’s clinging to Richie. Eddie knows he’s going to have to top up the scenting a lot in the first few months, and while most Alphas would find that tedious, Eddie doesn’t. It relaxes Richie, a lot, and it shows in the way Richie leans into him as they cross the apartment parking lot. It relaxes Eddie, too, because as long as Richie is at ease, so is he.

The moment they’re back inside the apartment Richie seems more at ease, pulling himself away from Eddie and heading for the bathroom. Beverly nudges Eddie in the arm with her elbow, shooting him a grin. “I saw that back there.”

“Saw what?” Eddie asks as they head for the living room.

“Don’t play dumb with me Eddie. I saw you scenting him when we passed that Alpha.”

Eddie rolls his eyes, dropping onto the sofa while Beverly claims the armchair, and the remote for the television. “Bev-”

“I think it’s cute that you’re that possessive over him already.” Beverly twirls the remote idly in her hand. “You know that you’ll have to top up the scenting a lot, right? Especially right now since he’s  _ just  _ stopped using scent blockers. His smell is strong because it’s all coming out at once.”

“Good thing I like how relaxing the scenting process is then.” Richie voices as he joins them, dropping next to Eddie on the sofa and tucking himself into his side. “You gonna pick a movie sometime today Bev?”

Beverly sticks her tongue out at him and turns on the TV.

Stan and Mike aren’t at all surprised when Richie comes clean about being an Omega. They’re more surprised that he’s managed to fool them for five years about being a Beta if anything, and Stan shares a knowing glance with Eddie. He’s already put two and two together - that the stuff Eddie asked him to get was for Richie’s Heat. He doesn’t bring it up - thankfully - and instead assures Richie that he’ll tell Bill when he’s home because Bill has a tendency to overreact to things without meaning to and it might set off Richie’s still adjusting Omega brain, and in turn, Eddie’s Alpha instincts to keep him safe.

With Stan taking care of informing Bill, and Beverly taking care of telling Ben, there’s two less people he needs to try and tell without almost breaking in the process. That alone puts Richie at ease, and it allows him to just relax at home and stop worrying about how people are going to react to him, even more so when Eddie scents him again, every movement slow and precise before the scenting turns into soft kisses.

Kissing Richie is something that Eddie knows he will never get tired of. Every brush of their lips draws short shaky breaths from Richie that light up every single one of Eddie’s instincts, bringing out the pleased growls that Riche loves to hear so much. When it’s mixed with the act of scenting, it draws soft purrs from Richie that  _ Eddie _ loves. It’s a sign that Richie is both relaxed and content and it makes Eddie feel good knowing that his boyfriend isn’t stressing himself out with anything right now. His focus is completely on Eddie and the scenting process alone. Richie returns the scenting in full too, though he struggles to keep it up with how relaxed Eddie makes him feel and Eddie has to take over for him once in a while.

Eddie drags his wrist down Richie’s chest, fingers scraping against his flesh and drawing a hiss from Richie who suddenly finds himself on his back, his hands inside Eddie’s shirt where his fingers press against the flesh of his back. Eddie straddles his waist with one hand curled around the side of Richie’s neck and his arm pressed into the bed to stop him from crushing Richie by keeping him supported. The kisses are broken and scattered, and the scenting slows before it comes to a stop and Eddie can enjoy the quiet moans and whimpers that roll from Richie’s throat whenever he rocks his clothed erection down against Richie’s crotch.

“Eds -”

Eddie stops, his fingers flexing into the blanket as tries not to brush against Richie’s forming erection. “Sorry - is this too much for you too soon?”

Richie stares up at him, face flushed, lips parted, and pupils blown. “No I -” Eddie can suddenly smell it. It’s faint but it doesn’t need to be all that strong for him to know what it is.  _ Slick _ . Richie groans as he sees Eddie register the scent and realisation settles on his face. “I suddenly miss the medication.”

“Hey, it’s okay.” Eddie assures him with a peck to his nose. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of. We can get them off so you’re comfortable.”

“It’s not that - well it’s partly that but I… I want you.”

“You want m -  _ oh _ .” Eddie dips his head down and kisses Richie once. “That can be arranged.”

Eddie is careful, really takes his time with opening Richie up. He wants this to cause as little pain as possible, and he wants to hear as many of those moans and whines as he can. As good as they sound when his fingers are buried in Richie, they’re nothing compared to how they sound when he’s  _ finally  _ buried in him, reducing him to a gasping mess that has to clutch onto Eddie.

The following morning, Richie does everything in his power to not drop his mug when Eddie passes him in the kitchen without a shirt on, his back littered with long claw marks. It looks like Eddie has been attacked, and Richie can’t recall getting  _ that  _ carried the night before though he does vaguely recall Eddie hissing sharply and biting down on his shoulder a little too hard when he clawed down his back as he hit his orgasm. 

“Holy fucking shit.”

“What?” Eddie asks, turning to face him with a mug of coffee in hand. 

“You look like you were viciously assaulted by a very pissed off cat.”

Eddie shrugs, raising the mug to his mouth to sip at his coffee. “It’s worth it to hear all those noises that you were making last night. I really didn’t think that you could top the ones you made in your heat but I was  _ incredibly _ mistaken.”

“I literally destroyed your fucking back, Eds.”

“You should see the state of your neck before you worry too much.”

Richie narrows his eyes, carefully places his mug onto the table, and he heads for the bathroom before his shout carries across the apartment. “ _ Oh fuck you Eddie! _ ”

“You already did that last night!”

“ _ Don’t be a smart little asshole with me! How the fuck am I supposed to hide these? It looks like I’ve been assaulted! _ ”

“You don’t hide them!”

“I don’t -  _ you fucking did this on purpose didn’t you, you little shit? _ ” Richie enters the kitchen, grabbing his coffee and dropping back into his seat at the table. “You couldn’t find a better way to mark your territory?”

“Nope.”

“You couldn’t just do one? Why did you have to do my  _ entire  _ neck?” 

“I want everyone to know that you’re mine now we don’t have to keep us to us anymore.” Eddie approaches him, leaning down to peck at his nose. “Besides… you weren’t complaining about them last night.”

“I don’t know whether to be pissed at you for the state of my neck or be really turned on by this territorial side that you suddenly have. On the one hand I look like I’ve been manhandled to fuck but on the other…  _ damn _ . I never thought you’d have this kind of side to you.”

Eddie lets out a pleased hum, pecking at Richie’s nose again. “Only for you. I have, like, five years of marks, kisses, and general affection to catch up on.”

Going back to class is still weird. He’s still not used to being apart from Eddie and it messes with his Omega brain. Eddie can pick up the faint smell of anxiousness and distress from Richie who has dressed himself in one of Eddie’s shirts and a hoodie to keep his smell as hidden as much as he possibly can. They’re early today, so Eddie takes his time walking Richie to the media department, stopping outside the door to the class and lacing their fingers together to pull Richie in for a kiss.

“Come in with me.” Richie mumbles against his mouth.

Eddie smiles and strokes his thumbs against the back of Richie’s hands as he pecks at his mouth again. “I can’t Rich. You  _ know  _ that. I have class too.”

“ _ Please _ ?”

“I’ll be right here when your class ends just like always.”

Richie huffs, curling his arms around Eddie and pushing his face into Eddie’s neck to take in his scent. “Not good enough. That’s too long to be apart.”

“Richie,” Eddie’s tone is firm, almost the authoritative tone that other Alphas use, but it’s still somewhat gentle, “it’s just two hours, okay? You’ve done this before. Stan’s gonna be there, and he promised to take care of you until your class ends.”

“I know it’s just… stupid Omega brain.”

Eddie brings his hands to Richie’s head, running his fingers through his curls before swiping his wrist across his face firmly. He continues this process until Stan arrives and Richie finally pulls himself away from Eddie reluctantly to go to class. It hard to focus when he wants to be with Eddie and not here, and the only thing that eases being away from him is for Richie to tuck his hand into his sleeve and bring it to his face so he can inhale Eddie’s scent. It doesn’t smell as good as the real thing, but it’s enough for now.

Just as he promised he would be, Eddie is waiting for him outside when class ends, texting on his phone and paying no attention to anything around him until Richie practically jumps onto him, nuzzling his face into Eddie’s neck and clutching him tightly. Eddie’s brain takes a moment to catch up, and then he’s smiling, curling his arms around Richie and pulling him closer until there’s no space between them.

“He’s been antsy all through class again.” Stan’s voice reaches Richie, but he’s too focused on taking in as much of Eddie’s scent as he can to give him any attention. “I thought I was gonna have to tie him to the chair at one point.”

“He was that bad?” Eddie asks, concern clear in his voice.

“He’s been pushing his Omega brain down for five years right? I’m not surprised he’s struggling to connect with it right now.”

“Can we go home? I need you to scent me.” Richie grumbles into Eddie’s shoulder. 

Eddie arches a brow and glances down at Richie who has his nose completely pressed to his neck and his fingers buried in the back of his shirt. “Already?”

“Smell like Stan. It’s gross.”

Stan raises his notebook and smacks it over the top of Richie’s head with a frown. “How about  _ thank you for keeping all the class Alphas away from me Stan? _ ”

“Yeah, yeah, thanks for taking Eddie’s scent off me. Ass.” Richie mumbles, nuzzling at Eddie’s neck with a soft sigh.

Stan heaves a sigh and then pinches at the bridge of his nose. “That’s it, I’m going before I jam this notebook down his throat. See you in two days Rich.”

“Later Stanita!” Richie calls, finally lifting his head from Eddie’s neck. “Home now?”

Eddie leans in to kiss him quickly. “Yeah. Home now.”

Being separated for a couple of hours at a time for classes is the part of the adjustment he struggles with most, but they eventually reach the point where they can manage it. It starts with scentings the moment they’re both home to help ease the tension and stress of being apart for what Richie feels is far too long. It takes them roughly a month to be able to come back and not immediately slam the other into the bed or sofa for a thorough scenting, though on days when Richie doesn’t have class, he rushes to Eddie the moment he steps through the door to smother him in affection.

It’s right when they get used to this that they’re thrown a new curve ball that they haven’t considered with everything else going on in the form of Eddie waking in the middle of the night. He knows there’s something wrong even  _ before  _ he registers the sobbing that’s coming from Richie next to him. The smell of distress is thick in the air and it puts Eddie’s instincts on high alert, sending warning signals through his whole body. 

Eddie curls his arms tighter around Richie, pulls him back into his chest, and Richie doesn’t fight it like he expects. “What’s wrong?”

Richie chokes back a sob, bringing a hand to his face and rubbing the heel of his palm against his eye. “It’s that… stupid pregnancy crash. I have it after every heat. It’s fucking stupid. I hate it.”

Eddie knows he has to handle this even more carefully than a normal crash, soothing a thumb against Richie’s stomach and brushing his nose gently against the back of his neck. “Shh, it’s okay Rich. One day.”

“It never - hits this bad.”

“You didn’t spend heats with an Alpha before. Even though we didn’t actually have sex your brain still thinks you failed your Alpha.” Eddie presses his nose into the back of Richie’s neck, coupled with a soft kiss to the area. “But you didn’t fail me, and you need to know that. It’s important that you know you didn’t do anything wrong.”

Richie inhales, relaxes into the soft kisses Eddie places on his neck, and moves his hand down to where Eddie’s is to lace their fingers together. “I hate this stupid Omega brain when it does shit like this.”

“I know.” Eddie brushes his thumb against one of Richie’s fingers. “I know that you’re struggling with your Omega brain because you’ve repressed it for so long. You could uh… try a support group to help you connect better with it.”

“There’s… support groups for this kind of thing?”

“You’d be surprised. They have all kinds of Omegas in them. There are ones who presented late, ones who weren’t expecting to be an Omega, and ones like you who are male and kept pushing down their instincts.”

Support groups aren’t a thing that have ever appealed to Richie in the past, but being around others like himself sounds like it can help with his adjustment now that he’s stopped suppressing his Omega brain. Eddie said there are others like him - others who can’t connect right with their Omega brains. Eddie can only do so much for him because he’s not Omega so he doesn’t understand every single part of the Omega brain. 

“Okay I,” Richie pauses, squeezing Eddie’s hand, “I’ll try a support group and see if it’s any help with this.”

“I know an Alpha who takes his Omega to one at the college every week so he’ll know when it is. I’ll find out tomorrow for you.”

Approaching an Alpha with a topic about their Omega who is considered, by main society, to be weird or even broken is a tricky thing to do. If it’s worded wrong when you ask about something in regards to them even without mentioning the Omega as a while, it registers to the Alpha as an insult to their mate, so Eddie knows he has to be  _ really  _ careful when he approaches Adrian during their class - especially since the other Alpha is wielding a scalpel right now.

“Hey, Adrian, can I talk to you about something?”

Adrian looks up from his cadaver, placing his bloody scalpel to one side and reaching for his mask to pull it down with a grin. “It’s not like you to ever need any help in this class Eddie.”

“It’s uh… it’s not class related.”

The grin fades from Adrian’s face. On top of Eddie never needing help in class, he rarely ever talks to someone. “This is serious huh? What’s up?”

“My boyfriend uh… he’s kind of been suppressing his Omega brain for a long time and he’s struggling with his adjustment to not doing that and actually being an Omega. I wanted to know when the support group is they do so I can take him to it. I figured it might help him better than I can since I’m not an Omega.”

Understanding flashes on Adrian’s face and he takes a step away from the cadaver, keeping his voice low as he talks. “It’s here every Saturday and it runs from eleven til one.” He glances around to make sure that no one is listening in. These aren’t the kinds of conversations people usually have in public. “Is he okay though? Sometimes when the Omega brain is cut off for a long time, something can mess up. Do you know if anything has?”

Eddie steps closer to Adrian, lowering his own voice. “He can’t seem to connect with his Omega brain correctly or his instincts. His emotions are hitting him harder than they should or when they shouldn’t really be hitting at all.”

“Was he - do you know if he was raised to be anything else?”

“His parents thought he’d be an Alpha, he thought he’d be a Beta. I don’t know if they raised him to be like an Alpha though, but he was kind of… preparing for both I guess?”

“Okay, so he’s acting just like anyone else raised to be something else or who thought that they’d be something else. It’s the shock of being unprepared that does this. It happened to Don too. They’ll be able to help him with that but they might suggest some one on one sessions or give him a lot of books to help him learn. He’s gonna be fine though - you both will.” Adrian raises a hand and extends it towards Eddie’s shoulder, remembering his bloodied gloves at the last second and dropping his hand back to his side. “Trust me, it gets easier as time goes on. As long as he knows that he has you, and you can find some little ways to help soothe him when it gets bad, everything gets easier. If you don’t think you can do that long term though, let him find someone who can.”

“No. I can do it. I like taking care of Richie.”

Adrian holds his hands up in defense. “Okay, okay. I was just throwing it out there because this kind of thing doesn’t just go away. It can be helped and made easier, but never healed. It’s an illness.” He raises a hand to his head, tapping a finger against his surgical cap. “In here. Those are the kind that don’t go away.”

That weekend, Richie finds himself at the college campus on Saturday. He’s been anxious all week because he’s not good at talking about personal issues like this despite the fact Eddie assures him numerous times that he’s not the only one with his exact problem. Eddie walks him to the room and hands over his jacket at the door to help keep Richie at ease while they’re apart. They may be better at this but it doesn’t mean they’ve perfected it. 

Richie wants nothing more than to just to sink into his chair and vanish during the meeting. He doesn’t want to admit to everyone around him that he’s here because he was suppressing his Omega brain and now has no control of his emotions and doesn’t understand a lot of his instincts, but he’s told Eddie he’ll give this a try. One of the girls in the group, Emma, confesses that she was raised to be a Beta like her parents until she presented and now can’t control her emotions or connect to her Omega brain, and Richie suddenly feels more at ease, especially when three others - one of which is male - admit they struggle with the same issue. No one is going to poke fun at him here. They’re all supportive of Emma, and they’ll support him too.

So Richie admits his issue to the twenty other people around him when the Beta woman in charge of the group asks, and Emma scoots her chair a little closer, knocking her elbow into Richie’s. “Looks like we’re in the same boat, huh? Did your Alpha make you come here too?”

Richie manages a smile at that, nudging his arm back into her own. “He didn’t  _ make _ me come here. He said this might help me better than he can so I promised I’d at least try it. How did you know -”

“ _ Please _ , you fucking reek of an Alpha with that jacket on.” Emma grins, holding her hand out to Richie. “I’m Emma the should have been Beta who has no fucking clue how to be an Omega. All the women in my family were Bets. Little bit of a shock when I was like  _ surprise bitches, I’m an Omega and I broke the chain. _ ”

Richie lets out a laugh, taking her hand. “Richie. I was born in a small minded town who never would have accepted I was a male Omega so I suppressed it and now I have no fucking clue how to be an Omega because everyone in my living family is either a Beta or an Alpha. It was a hell of a shock.”

Emma shakes his hand once before releasing it. “That’s what breaks the brain connection. The shock. Sucks to be us, huh?”

“Yeah, I only stopped what I was doing because I hit a heat around my now boyfriend who has a creepy level of control over his instincts. He got me home and took care of me.”

“It sounds like you managed to get yourself a good Alpha there.”

“Yeah… I did.”

Richie quickly realises that Emma is a very enjoyable person to be around. They have a lot in common, even down to their sense of humour, and she’s very supportive of his adjustment problems, trying to give him little tips and tricks to help that she’s found have helped her. Richie has never considered having a friend outside of the group before. He’s never really connected with anyone the way he has them, but he’s really considering it. Emma is  _ nice _ and she understands what he’s going through.

“You look like you haven’t slept in a week.” Beverly notes, tilting the styrofoam cup back and forth in her hand slowly as she stares at Eddie from across the table in the Starbucks they’ve met up in. 

“That’s because I haven’t.” Eddie exhales, lifting his cup to his mouth and taking a long swig of the scalding coffee. “I’m so fucking tired.” 

Concern crosses Beverly’s face as she lowers her cup. “Is everything okay at home? Did you and Richie have a fight or something?”

Eddie chokes on his coffee, shaking his head. “No, no, no - oh  _ god _ no _. _ It’s nothing like that Bev. We didn’t fight. It’s just that… we’re uh… we’re around the middle of the time between two heats right now and -”

“ _ Oh. _ ” Beverly realises what he’s getting at and slaps her free hand over her mouth with wide eyes. “ _ Shit _ . That’s -”

“Yeah.” Eddie sighs, placing his cup down. “His lack of emotional control is making it even worse for him and I… I don’t know what I’m supposed to do to make it okay.”

Beverly releases her cup, reaches across the table to take Eddie’s hand, and gives it a gentle squeeze. “Hey, it’s not your fault that this is happening, Eddie. All Omegas feel that disappointment between their heats if they’re not pregnant. It’s just an Omega thing. Richie’s just -”

“Different so he feels it more intensely than other Omegas, I know.”

“There’s nothing that you really  _ can  _ do except to just be there.”

Eddie’s hand tightens around his cup, his nails leaving small dents in the styrofoam. “I just… I hate it so much, Bev. He breaks down randomly and I can’t… make it better. I don’t know  _ how  _ to make it better for him. What kind of Alpha can’t do that for their Omega?”

“Hey, listen to me. You’re  _ there _ for him and that does more for him than he’ll ever know. Where is he now? You didn’t like… leave him alone at the apartment did you? Because that’s the worst thing that you could possibly do right now.”

“No, I didn’t leave him alone. I told him about a support group for Omegas. I figured it would help him so he’s there now.”

When it’s almost time for the support group to get out, Eddie and Beverly part ways. When he arrives at the college campus, he spots Richie emerging from the building with a girl who shoves her elbow into his side with a laugh before waving and heading away from him, down the steps and into the arms of what looks like the typical Alpha; large and muscular. He doesn’t  _ act  _ like one though. The second the girl reaches him his arms wrap around her, clear and genuine concern on his face as they exchange conversation while she nuzzles her face into his neck.

“That’s Emma.” Richie says, now standing in front of Eddie. “She’s like me. Her emotions are all messed up too because of the lack of connection to her brain. Her boyfriend makes her come here because it helps her to stay calm.”

Eddie shoots him a teasing grin. “Sounds like you made a friend in there, Rich.”

“Yeah, she uh… she’s really nice. I like her. Like everyone here is really supportive and stuff and I appreciate that but she  _ really _ understands what I’m going through so anything she says isn’t just generic support.”

Eddie smiles and brushes his thumbs against Richie’s cheeks. “I’m glad today helped you. Does that mean you wanna come back next week?”

Richie leans into the contact with a soft sigh. “Yeah. I wanna come back. It’s nice knowing I’m not the only Omega who has no idea how to connect with their Omega brain.”

Eddie lowers his arms and curls them slowly around Richie’s waist. “Okay, then I’ll bring you back next week and any other week you want to come back.”

“Every week we’re not dealing with a heat or a rut. I don’t want you to have to keep wasting your time with a broken Omega when I can get fixed.”

Eddie’s arms drop from Richie, his mouth twitching into a frown. “Is that what you think? That you need to come here because you’re broken? You’re not  _ broken _ Richie, and I’m not  _ wasting my time _ . You’re just a little different, that’s all. Don’t force yourself here for _ me _ . Where did you even  _ get  _ an idea like that?”

Richie motions behind him to the building. “There was a guy in there and he just broke down… called himself broken and said that he had trouble finding an Alpha because  _ no one wants to deal with broken baggage.  _ And I was thinking… I’m not that much different to him, you know? We have the exact same issues. Every single one.”

“If you keep saying you’re broken and thinking you are then you  _ will  _ break. You’re not broken, and he’s not either. Presenting as something that wasn’t what you expected doesn’t make you broken, nor does the fact you suppressed your Omega brain. You adapt to it, and work around it. Now I’ll ask you again.  _ Do you want to come back? _ ”

Richie considers it a moment before he nods. “I - yeah. It does actually help me.”

Richie continues to attend the support group every week, and he notices that the bouts of uncontrollable sobbing are hitting him a little less intensely. He knows it’s something that won’t  _ fully  _ go away, but having it lessened is better than nothing. He’s definitely starting to connect a little better with his Omega brain now thanks to the people in the support group who  _ do  _ have a good connection with their own. They help him understand what the different things he’s feeling is, and when it’s best to seek his Alpha for comfort.

Richie starts to enjoy the two hour meetings on a Saturday. He’s surrounded by people who understand what he’s going through, and as much as he loves Eddie, Eddie  _ doesn’t  _ fully understand. That doesn’t mean that Richie doesn’t appreciate him  _ trying  _ though. Eddie is  _ always  _ trying to make things easier for him, to figure out the best ways to take care of him. For the most part, it works, but there’s no way Eddie can help him reel in his out of control emotions.

“Listen.” Emma taps the tip of her styrofoam cup of hot chocolate against Richie’s nose with a smile. It’s not uncommon for the two of them to hang out after support. It helps him get used to being apart from Eddie for certain periods of time and it’s good for Emma too whose never really had any other Omega friends until now. “You’re doing a lot better than you think you are. You made it through a whole session without sobbing and that, my friend, is what we call some insane progress in just a few months. It’s even more impressive since you  _ just  _ had a heat. How did you cope with this one by the way?”

Richie sighs, tilting his head back from the cup. “It felt less intense than the last one because I’m more used to my brain now but I still couldn’t hit a lull unless -”

“You’re still attached?” Emma finishes when Richie can’t seem to, smiling as he nods his answer to her. “Okay, I know that this sounds incredibly weird and stuff for me to suggest but have you two tried using any uh... heat toys and stuff?” She asks, taking a quick sip of her hot chocolate as they start to walk up the street. “Like I don’t mean getting a fake dick. I’m talking something more… to prevent your Alpha from being able to cum.”

“How does that -”

“Because the heat spikes up again when the knot goes down because you feel too empty, genius. If the knot can’t go down then the heat won’t spike up and you can actually hit a decent enough lull… though I suggest that you like, bring food to the nest  _ before  _ you use them since you won’t be able to move.”

Richie stops suddenly, confusion settling in. “Wait, how does that even work? Those toys are designed for the tip. How are you supposed to -”

“Oh my god.” Emma tries her best not to laugh at him, really she does, but the sound comes out regardless and she stifles it behind her hand. “Not the toys they designed for  _ Betas _ , Richie! They have a special gels for Alphas that can stop orgasms for just over two hours so their non-lull hitting Omegas can actually eat and get in a nap.”

“Well how was  _ I  _ supposed to know that was a thing!?”

Emma giggles, grabbing Richie by the wrist and dumping her now empty cup into the nearby trashcan. “Come on Rich, you have some time before Eddie is done at the gym so I’m gonna educate you real quick.”

She doesn’t give Richie chance to argue, pulling him across the street as she texts Jason to tell him she needs a little more time to do something. They duck into an alley and Emma shoves a door open, pulling him into a dark store. There’s only one other person in the store except for them, the shop clerk whos tag reads  _ Gwen _ , and Richie is grateful for that.

“You’re here  _ again _ Emma?” Gwen teases with a grin. “I’m not gonna lie, I’m starting to get concerned about the sexual aspect of your relationship at this point.”

Emma grins, raising a hand and patting Richie’s shoulder. “I’m here for him today, not for me. This is my friend Richie. He’s new to actually listening to his Omega brain and being one since he suppressed that side of him for so long, but he can’t hit a lull during his heats unless his Alpha is still attached to him. I thought that some of your gels might help him with that, and maybe some ways to dull his senses a little.”

“Well, as someone who has been suppressing their Omega side, I think that it’s best to stick with the basic gel and maybe a blindfold for now. You don’t want to cut off too many of your senses at once or you’ll get distressed. The last thing you need in a heat is to feel distressed because you’ll just end up hitting a crash. Do you build your nests when the heat is hitting or do you have a permanent one in your home?”

“It’s okay Richie.” Emma soothes when Richie doesn’t answer, nudging her arm into his side. “Gwen isn’t going to judge you on anything. She just needs details so she can help you the best she can but you need to open up to her a little.”

Richie exhales, feeling the tension leave his body at the reassurance. “I’ve um… only had two heats with an Alpha. I built a nest  _ during  _ the first one, and then this time it was when I was already in a preheat so both of them were rushed.”

Gwen nods, and there’s no sign of judgement anywhere on her face just like Emma said there wouldn’t be. “You should try building a permanent one over the next few months before your next heat hits. A lot of Omegas can’t hit lulls because their nests are last minute and don’t feel safe enough. Stop fighting your instincts to build one. When you feel them pushing at you close your eyes, take a deep breath, and just go with it. Let them decide what to put in the nest and where to put the nest. I’ll go get you some stuff that might help in case the nest isn’t the case.”

“See.” Emma grins, elbowing Richie in the rib. “She’s nice and knows what she’s doing.”

Richie’s thankful for the discreet black and gold striped plain bag that Gwen puts the items in, but he still shoves it into the pocket of his jacket as they head back outside to make their way to the gym. Eddie has just finished his workout when they arrive and he’s stood with Beverly by a bench drinking from a water bottle with a towel draped around his neck while Beverly talks excitedly about how her fashion course is going. Richie attaches himself to Eddie when he’s close enough, taking in the scent of post-work out Eddie. 

It’s become one of his favourite scents and Richie has no idea why or when it did.

“Hi to you too Richie.” Eddie greets, handing the water bottle to Beverly so he can hug Richie. “How was group?”

“It was exhausting but good… helpful. The usual.” Richie presses his nose into Eddie’s neck. “Missed you too much though.”

Emma rolls her eyes, a teasing smile on her face. “It was three hours. Anyone would think you don’t  _ want  _ to spend time with me.”

“I literally just let you drag me into a sketchy sex shop, Ems, so don’t try that argument on me.” Richie snaps playfully against Eddie’s shoulder.

Beverly barks out a laugh, almost choking on her water as she lowers her bottle. “I’m sorry, you took Richie  _ where  _ now?”

Emma shoves Richie, forcing Eddie to tighten his hold on him so he doesn’t fall. “It was for his own good so I took him to a very  _ nice  _ and  _ helpful  _ sex shop. We didn’t get anything on the  _ extreme _ side. It was just something to help him hit lulls which, by the way, you’ll thank me for after your next heat, jackass.”

“You found something to help?” Eddie asks, sliding his hands into the back of Richie’s jacket and trailing his fingers against his lower back.

“Yeah but it uh,” Richie pauses, leaning closer to Eddie’s ear and dropping his voice so only Eddie can hear him now, “kind of involves you not being able to cum for like two hours and me not being able to see anything.”

Eddie digs his fingers into Richie’s back, drawing him closer until Richie presses completely against his front. “You got some blocking gel?”

Richie nods against neck, almost warily. “Yeah but uh - we don’t have to use it. Gwen just gave me some stuff that might help me with hitting a lull.”

“We can try it. I’ll try anything once that might help you to hit one. Are you sure you can handle that though? I know that kno - that it overwhelms you.”

“You can say  _ knotting _ .”

“Absolutely fucking not, Richie.” Eddie hisses, pecking at his jaw gently. “That’s fucking  _ gross _ .”

“It’s  _ just  _ a word, Eds.”

Eddie snorts, trailing his hand slowly up Richie’s spine. “Say the word  _ slick _ for me, Richie.”

Richie opens his mouth to speak and then closes it again quickly. He sighs heavily, pressing his hands against Eddie’s back. “Well played.”

Over the next few weeks, Richie starts to notice some changes in Eddie. His smell is changing slowly, and he’s getting a little more aggressive than usual with other Alphas he interacts with - something that has resulted in him not doing his work outs with Beverly for the time being. Richie doesn’t understand it at first, not even when Eddie snaps at Stan who takes it in stride and rolls his eyes at Eddie’s aggression with a knowing look. It isn’t until he passes the calendar in the kitchen with the red crosses on it that Richie understands, because if there’s one thing Eddie is sure to keep track of, it’s Richie’s heats every three months and his ruts every seven months.

Eddie’s entering a rut, and part of that is terrifying to Richie.

Richie knows that the rut is when it’s his turn to take care of Eddie for once, but he also knows that they’re intense. The Omega smell that he’s now radiating is going to set off Eddie’s instincts and spark off a more feral side of Eddie’s brain that’s almost uncontrollable. He is, like most Omegas who are new to having a Alpha, under the assumption that when it comes to an Alpha’s rut he doesn’t have a say in  _ anything  _ that happens and just exists to be used as a fuck toy for five days by his Alpha to satisfy himself with.

Richie soon realises how wrong - at least when it comes to  _ Eddie _ \- he is. A rut, like a heat, starts out as barely anything. On the morning of the first day, it hasn’t really hit Eddie’s brain yet, but there are small things he notices that are different to usual. He likes to keep Richie close by, and it’s something that shows when they’re lying on the sofa watching a movie around midday. Eddie’s hand slides between his legs - curling firmly around his thigh as he pulls Richie back into his chest to hold him in place. He doesn’t do anything beyond gripping the area, though his head angles down so he can bury his nose in Richie’s hair. He inhales deeply, emits a soft growl, and tucks himself around Richie almost protectively. 

Richie likes  _ this  _ part of the rut, especially when Eddie slides his hand into his shirt to scent him and moves the other arm around him to keep him pinned in place. Richie leans into it, letting out a soft sigh of content as Eddie scents him. Its different to normal - firmer - like marking territory rather than soothing Richie. But Richie still likes it - likes the idea that he’s Eddie’s and no one else’s.

“Look at you.” Eddie says, his voice a low growl as he presses his nose to the juncture of Richie’s neck and scrapes his fingers down his stomach. Richie relaxes into Eddie’s chest, allowing the strong scent that radiates from Eddie to wash over him. “So pliant already and I’m barely touching you. You’re such a good Omega.” The praise brings a purr from Richie, and Eddie’s fingers drag slowly against his stomach. “Love it when you make that noise - love how you react to me. Makes me wanna just fuck you right here.”

Richie tenses and drops the television remote to the floor in favour of sinking his fingers into the edge of the sofa cushion. He’s never heard Eddie talk like this before, but his instincts seem to enjoy it if that stupid slick he can feel is anything to go by. Eddie can apparently smell it to, and his hips grind forward against Richie’s ass, forcing Richie to grip the cushion even harder. He can feel that Eddie is already hard with each grind that makes him grip the cushion as hard as he can, and if Eddie keeps this up he’s going to hit his orgasm right there in his pants like some teenager who has no control over himself.

Richie lets out a whine, body shaking, and Eddie suddenly stops what he’s doing and loosens his grip on Richie. “Shit - Richie - sorry. Thought I had better control than that.”

Richie doesn’t move - doesn’t want Eddie’s Alpha brain to think his advances are being rejected because they’re  _ not _ . He just hadn’t been expecting the rut to suddenly spark Eddie’s Alpha brain. “Don’t be. I uh… I liked it.”

“You  _ liked it _ ?” Eddie parrots, sounding confused. 

Richie doesn’t like much when it comes to sex. He’s never offered up to  _ explore  _ other things to do in the bedroom because he’s still getting used to the non-heat sexual aspect of their relationship. “Yeah, though the position is a little awkward with the amount of space we have.”

The space, as it turns out, ends up not being an issue once Eddie manages to get him on his front. Rut sex is ten times more intense than normal sex, and even his heat sex. Eddie’s grips are rough, and Richie can  _ feel _ him fight his instincts to manhandle him with the way his fingers flex against his hips whenever he feels himself getting too rough. Eddie’s thrusts are faster, sharper, and Richie can barely catch his breath between his moans. 

They’re five rounds in when Eddie stops for a moment. The only noise in the room is coming from the heavily panting Richie and Eddie spreads his hand across Richie’s back to feel the way his body moves with each pant, really taking him in. Richie’s head is resting sideways on a pillow, eyes half lidded and his face flushed while his fingers shake where they’re clutching at the edge of the sofa cushion. He looks completely fucked out, especially with the way his curls are tangled with sweat and sticking to the side of his face. Eddie knows Richie is feeling overstimulated right now, but he can’t smell any distress coming from him. He considers stopping - considers finding another way to hit his rut lull - but when he meets Richie’s tired gaze it comes with an encouraging smile to carry on - to at least finish  _ this  _ round.

Eddie does, leaning over Richie completely and grabbing his hair as gently as he can for a rut, pulling his head back so he can kiss him - letting out a soft growl as he starts to move again. “Such a good fucking boy, aren’t you? So eager to please your Alpha.”

Richie swallows, manages to find his voice, through it’s pretty strained when he speaks - almost breathless. “A-always. Just -  _ ah _ \- want you to be happy.”

Eddie noses at the back of Richie’s neck, wraps an arm around his stomach, and starts to kiss down the expanse of his back. “So good for me - and you know what a good Omega gets don’t you?”

“K-knot.”

“That’s right.”

Ruts are exhausting, Richie decides by the end of the first day, but they’re worth it whenever Eddie pushes himself completely into him and locks them together. This time he tightens his arm around Richie’s waist and pulls him back so he can sit down and not crush him, securing the exhausted Richie in his lap and nuzzling at his neck with soft satisfied growls. He uses his free hand to peel the sweat dampened curls from his face, tucking them behind his ears.

“Please tell me you hit a rut lull.” Richie groans, resting the back of his head against Eddie’s shoulder. “I’m tired and sticky and this a bad combination.”

Eddie presses a kiss to his jaw, nosing at his ear. “As soon as we can move we’ll get you to the shower.”

By the third day, Richie becomes aware that a rut is more than just the need to keep fucking him senseless until his Alpha brain was satisfied. Whenever Eddie hit a place where his Alpha brain was sated, he became protective. Richie had woken up from power naps on more than one occasion to Eddie almost lying on top of him like he was trying to keep him safe from something. Richie wakes from one of his naps on the afternoon of the third day with Eddie under him, arms secured around his waist like a vice. His legs are resting either side of Eddie’s waist and he can smell the spike of Eddie’s rut as it slowly comes back.

He loves that smell. At first he hadn’t understood it until Eddie had told him it was  _ supposed _ to smell good to him. The smell is designed to drawn the Omega in, though Eddie has made it clear more than once that Richie has full choice on whether they actually do anything. Richie knows that Eddie is scared he’ll hurt Richie during the rut, though Richie is sure that Eddie wouldn’t hurt him intentionally, and if he did  _ accidentally _ , then his good control would kick in just like the day before when he’d slammed Richie just a little too hard into the kitchen table. It was enough to make him  _ yelp _ of all things, and the second the sound had left Richie’s mouth, Eddie had stopped instantly and backed away to let Richie come to him once the initial shock had worn off from being slammed. 

Eddie had felt the rut snap from his brain into nothing, replaced with pure concern, because even a  _ slightly  _ distressed Omega was the most definite and sure way to break a rut. Eddie had stood in the kitchen doorway unmoving until Richie approached him, curling his arms around him and assuring Eddie he was fine. 

Richie feels Eddie stir and he sits up slowly, staring into the intense green gaze as he takes in the frown that settles onto Eddie’s face. Eddie’s hand snaps up, grabs Richie’s chin carefully, and tilts his face to the side to look at the bruise that’s formed on Richie’s cheek over the course of the last twenty-four hours. “I fucking knew I’d hurt you yesterday.”

“Hey,” Richie soothes, stroking his thumbs against Eddie’s jaw, “it was an accident. I’m sure that other Alphas have done a lot worse to Omegas during ruts. They probably wouldn’t have stopped like you did.”

Eddie’s still looking at the bruise, and he gently brushes his thumb just under it. “I’m sorry. I should have been more careful.”

Richie leans down, presses a light kiss to Eddie’s lips, and brushes his nose against Eddie’s. “It was an  _ accident _ Eds, but if you’re  _ that  _ worried you’re gonna do it again you can just lie back - let me take complete care of your spike.”

They end up with Richie riding Eddie through his rut spike. It takes a while for Eddie to trust himself - to grab Richie’s hips and lift himself up before he slams Richie onto his back against the bed. He curls an arm under one of Richie’s legs, raises it up into the air, and bends it towards Richie’s body so it ends up hooked over Eddie’s shoulder as he leans over him. The new angle lets Eddie go deeper - faster - and allows him to keep eye contact with the gasping and moaning Omega under him who clutches at the arm on the bed next to him like a vice. Eddie likes it better this way. He likes to see the way that Richie’s eyes flutter and roll - likes to see the way his pupils dilate - likes to see that exact moment his eyes cloud when he hits his orgasm.

Richie clutches at Eddie’s arm even tighter after the orgasm hits, attempting to ground himself while his chest heaves as he struggles to catch his breath. Eddie stays buried inside him, nuzzling at his neck and breathing the relaxing scent that comes from Richie. It’s a scent that keeps him rooted to reality - pushes at his instincts to let Richie recover, and Eddie’s never been more thankful for the control he has over his instincts than he is in this moment. He can feel the shake of Richie’s body, see the exhaustion creeping in, signs that Richie is struggling to keep up with the rut spikes, just like he struggles to keep up with his own Heat spikes. Eddie’s only really hit two lulls with this rut, and though he knows  _ why _ , he’d never considered it would be an issue for Richie. He should have, and he knows he should have because Richie isn’t connecting correctly with the Omega part of himself. 

He takes the next round slower, more careful, and doesn’t stop once he’s locked with Richie after pushing him to his orgasm, grinding inside him slowly to push him into a third one. He loves the flush that’s settled onto Richie’s face - loves that  _ he  _ did that - and not even the bruise can hurt that pride. It lights up his Alpha brain, sends a deep satisfaction that settles in place as Richie tilts his head towards the hand planted next to him on the bed, seeking out Eddie’s Alpha scent. Eddie twists his hand on the sheet, exposes his wrist to Richie, and smiles as the exhausted Omega brushes his nose against his wrist.

It’s in this moment that Eddie realises he’s the first Alpha to be like this with Richie. There’s no previous lingering Alpha scent that he needs to wash away over time with his own and that sets off a whole new pride. His Omega was untouched - is  _ completely  _ his - and it draws an almost possessive growl from him as he presses his nose to Richie’s neck. The growl draws a noise from Richie that confuses them and makes both of them pause for a moment as Eddie deciphers it. It sounds kind of like a whine mixed into a purr, but the depth doesn’t shift in pitch and it clicks into place. Richie is happy. That’s a  _ happy _ whine. It brings a smile back to Eddie’s face and he slides his nose up to Richie’s jaw where he presses a firm kiss.

“ _ Eds, _ ” Richie hisses after a moment, leg flexing against Eddie’s shoulder, “leg.”

It takes a moment for Richie’s words to register before Eddie lowers his leg carefully to the bed, soothing a hand against his thigh. “Sorry.”

Richie discovers that it’s hard to get food and drink into a rutting Alpha. They’re stubborn unless it comes to sex, and Richie wonders if this is what its like for Eddie when he’s in a Heat. He doesn’t want to leave Eddie for too long since it sparks off too many of his instincts at once when he can’t see or smell Richie in the immediate area, so he opts for ordering takeout, but Eddie refuses the slice of pizza whenever its held up to his mouth. That’s how Richie realises he can  _ hiss  _ of all things, and the noise confuses both of them so much that it actually gets Eddie to eat something before Richie does it again - almost like it sends him pliant to whatever Richie wants just like Eddie’s growls do to Richie. Richie takes full advantage of this, using his newfound noise to get Eddie to drink too when he refuses.

“You fucking  _ hissed  _ at me.” Eddie says when Richie returns from dumping the box in their trash.

“Yeah well... you wouldn’t eat or drink.” Richie huffs, dropping to sit next to him on the bed. “You  _ need  _ to eat, Eds.”

“That - it was actually kind of hot.” Eddie admits, reaching for him. “Come here.” Richie climbs into Eddie’s lap as Eddie curls his arms around him, pulling him into his chest. “Thank you for making sure I ate something.”

Richie can see how tired he is, and it becomes clear he’s managed to his another rut lull when all Eddie does is shuffle to lie down with Richie lying on top of him. Richie buries nose into Eddie’s neck, soothing him as he nuzzles the area. He can feel Eddie scenting him again, rubbing his wrists over any area he scents three or four times before he moves on to another one. Once he’s done, and Richie is asleep from the relaxing feeling of the scenting, Eddie rolls them over so Richie is curled into his front on his side and wraps himself around Richie as much as he can. 

Eddie finds this to be an irritating part of his instincts because he knows there’s no danger, but they keep pushing him - telling him there’s something wrong - wrong with  _ Richie _ . But Richie seems fine. He’s completely relaxed and asleep - head tucked just under Eddie’s chin. All his instincts are doing is confusing him.

Eddie finds out just what’s wrong when Richie wakes up on the fourth day with a raw sounding throat and feels warm - too warm for Eddie’s liking. He recalls how tired and run down Richie seemed the night before, and it suddenly clicks when Richie tries to get out of the bed to get them food and he teeters on the spot for a moment before falling back down onto the bed. He’s sick. Richie is new to this kind of stuff. He’s run himself down trying to take care of Eddie through the rut which seems to have less lulls than a Heat. 

Richie tries to get up again but fails, and Eddie curls his arms around him to try and pull him back into the bed. “Richie,” he growls as Richie fights his grip to get out of the bed, his Omega brain in overdrive to keep his Alpha sated and taken care of, “you’re  _ sick. _ You need to  _ rest _ .”

“No - can’t - need to -”

“ _ Richie _ .” Eddie hates using an authoritative Alpha voice with Richie - hates the tone that comes with it and the way Richie flinches when it’s used - but its the only way to get Richie to listen to him right now when he’s in overdrive like this. “I can take care of the rut spikes myself today, but you need to  _ rest _ . You’ve run yourself down doing too much that you’re not used to doing because all of this is still new to you.”

Richie stops fighting him, sinks back into Eddie’s chest, and doesn’t move beyond the shift of his body as he breathes. “I fucking suck at this.”

“You don’t suck at this. Not at all.” Eddie assures him, taking advantage of the non-moving Richie to tuck him back into bed before he nuzzles at his jaw. “You’re just not used to it. You’ve been amazing all week. This is my last rut day. I can take care of it myself, okay?”

Richie relents with a sigh. “Okay.”

“I’m going to let you get some rest now but I’ll bring you some food later.”

“Can I… at least have a shirt or something for while you’re gone?” Richie asks tiredly, his voice scratchy. Eddie grabs the hoodie from the back of his chair and zips it up around a pillow which he tucks into Richie’s arms. Richie yawns and buries his face into it instantly. “This is the same one you gave me in my first Heat here.”

“It’s the one I wear most so it has the strongest smell.”

Richie closes his eyes and tightens his arms around the pillow. “You’re never getting this back.”

Eddie smiles, leaning down to brush Richie’s hair from his face. “I didn’t think I would. You at least need to let me top up the smell for you once in a while.”

“S’the only time you’re allowed to have it back.”

Richie is woken sometime later by the feel of Eddie nosing gently at his ear to rouse him. Everything is blurry when he opens his eyes, his throat burns, and his body aches.  _ Flu _ , Richie realises, and he moves an arm to his mouth to cover a coughing fit. Eddie brushes the curls from Richie’s face, takes a seat on the edge of the bed, and shakes a bottle in his hand that makes Richie grimace. Richie has never been one for medicine or its gross taste, but he knows Eddie’s going to make sure he takes it one way or another so he gives in and sits up slowly, holding his hand out for the spoon.

“Wow, you’re not resisting for once.” Eddie points out, twisting the cap off the bottle. “You’re usually a nightmare when you’re sick.”

“It’s either this or I’m pretty sure you’ll funnel it down my throat.” Richie shoves the spoon into his mouth once Eddie’s poured the medicine on it, surprised that it doesn’t taste as bad as he’s expecting. “You changed medicines.”

“No, I just made sure to get  _ you _ a different one to the one I take. This is the kind of stuff you’d give a child who refuses to take medicine.”

Richie rolls his eyes. “Greattt.”

“Hey,  _ you’re  _ the one who keeps refusing to take medicine.” Eddie quips, twisting the cap back onto the bottle. “If you’re going to act like a child when it comes to your health, I’m going to treat you like one while I tend to it. Are you hungry?”

“A little but I think if I eat anything right now it’s just gonna come right back up.”

Eddie grimaces at that, setting the bottle on the nightstand. “Okay, so no food for you yet. Maybe some more sleep?”

“Will you stay with me this time?” Richie asks, wincing as talking irritates his throat and raising a hand to rub at the area. Eddie motions for Richie to scoot backwards, which he does, and then he’s climbing into the bed next to him. “Didn’t actually expect you to agree to that with your germ adversion.”

Eddie rolls his eyes and curls an arm around Richie. “You’re more important than my germ aversion, Richie. Do you need anything?”

Richie shakes his head and presses his face to Eddie’s chest. Eddie smells way better than the hoodie and pillow combination which has a fading scent, and he can still pick up the faint smell of the rut which is now starting to leave Eddie’s system. It smells more relaxing now, like a contagious lull that’s creeping into him, pulling him into sleep.

He wakes to Eddie sitting up in the bed next to him on his laptop, no rut smell present. Eddie glances to him when he registers he’s awake, face full of concern. “How are you feeling? You’ve been out since yesterday afternoon.”

Richie frowns at that. It feels like he’s only slept a couple of hours - not almost an entire day. “Not gonna lie, I feel like shit.”

Eddie shifts his position and reaches over, brushing Richie’s hair back from his face. “I’m sorry Rich. I should have known that too much you’re not used to at once would have run you down. Especially since you’re not connecting right with the part of you that can handle it.”

“I shouldn’t have pushed myself like that.” Richie covers another cough with his arm, slowly sitting up as Eddie reached for the bottle of medicine on the night stand. “Who knew you could get flu from  _ fucking _ .”

“That’s not how it works. You got sick from overworking yourself genius.” Eddie hands him the bottle, soothing a hand against the back of Richie’s head. “You need to learn to stop once in a while and let yourself rest.”

Richie rolls his eyes, twisting the cap of the bottle off, holding his hand out for the spoon. “Sure thing _ mom _ .”


End file.
